updates: the missed promotion, the religious mission, and more by Alison Green on February 17, 2022 Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. CEO will ask how things are going … but she just yanked a promotion away from me (#2 at the link) I wanted to follow up with a happy update! I was so grateful you posted my letter, and for the feedback I received from you and […] Read the full article →
pressured to donate blood, interviewee flubbed a softball question, and more by Alison Green on February 17, 2022 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Pressure to donate blood I work for a large health care system; my job is completely unrelated to patient care but the director of my unit — say, a faculty education office — is a medical doctor. Lately the system has put out a call […] Read the full article →
why is this interview question stumping our candidates? by Alison Green on February 16, 2022 A reader writes: I’m wondering why a particular interview question that we ask our candidates is so fraught. Something we commonly ask candidates at the very end of our process is quite simple but is for some reason astonishingly difficult and unexpectedly challenging for a lot of candidates. It is just this: “Is there anything […] Read the full article →
I interviewed a candidate who didn’t know what was on his resume by Alison Green on February 16, 2022 A reader writes: For several years now, my company has outsourced a particular function to contractors, who use a well-known model, which I’ll call Model A. I oversee these contractors so have some level of familiarity with Model A. We recently decided that we want to bring this function in-house, so we are looking to […] Read the full article →
my boss is coming back after going AWOL for 2 years by Alison Green on February 16, 2022 A reader writes: Since the start of the pandemic my boss has worked remotely. This isn’t a big issue except for two things. First, my team works in a lab as new product development. Due to the nature of our jobs, it’s nearly impossible to work from home full-time. Minus my boss, we’ve been in […] Read the full article →
employer sent out a fried chicken recipe for Black History Month, quitting at a bad time, and more by Alison Green on February 16, 2022 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My employer sent out a fried chicken recipe for Black History Month I am seriously considering quitting my Fortune 100 job over an email that went out to all U.S. associates to celebrate Black History Month. However, until I do, I’m hoping you have some […] Read the full article →
our new team lead is horrible and keeps sharing private details about us with our colleagues by Alison Green on February 15, 2022 A reader writes: My coworker, let’s call her Kate, recently got promoted to a team lead role on the team. For the sake of transparency, I was in consideration for this role as well and was the second choice if she didn’t accept. While I’m a little upset about this, I have only been at […] Read the full article →
update: my coworker’s son is interning for us … and it’s not going well by Alison Green on February 15, 2022 Remember the letter-writer whose coworker’s son is interning for their office and it wasn’t going well? Here’s the update. I’m happy to report that I took your advice and mostly left the situation alone. There was one situation in which I had to shut down Luke: He was complaining about a receptionist who doesn’t speak […] Read the full article →
my coworker passes me messages “from the CEO” … that I think are really from her by Alison Green on February 15, 2022 A reader writes: I’ve worked for an 80-person organization for two years in an outward-facing, sales-like role. I come with 20+ years experience. The organization has one HR employee coordinating interviews, terminations, and benefits paperwork. Most of my colleagues work in roles that require casual clothing (a branded t-shirt and jeans). My role, however, requires […] Read the full article →
forced to celebrate the boss’s birthday, snow day favoritism, and more by Alison Green on February 15, 2022 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Why should we all have to celebrate the boss’s birthday? I’m hoping you can tell me if I’m off-base to feel annoyed by something that happened at work. I work in an organization of about 20 people. One of my coworkers sent out an email […] Read the full article →